The GnATTERbox

For discussion of the issues faced when building a model or layout - how to replicate wood, what glues to use, exactly how much weathering can a Gnat take, a good source of detailing accessories - you get the picture, I'm sure.

Interests: Building and running exhibition layouts now in Gn15, previously in 009 scale narrow gauge for 34 years. I like steam locos and like to achieve a degree of realism. I am also interested in motor buses from 1945 to 1969.

Thank you all, I am enjoying Gn15 very much, and wifey is always willing to help. I am having a break from scenery construction, while I build a few items of rolling stock. Progress hasn't been very good this week as I've not been very well though. Blast!

I have only just stumbled across this delightful piece of modelling, what a great joy it is. The details is fantastic and I can't wait to see the "water under the bridge" - please excuse the pun!Cheers,Mark Goodwin

Interests: Building and running exhibition layouts now in Gn15, previously in 009 scale narrow gauge for 34 years. I like steam locos and like to achieve a degree of realism. I am also interested in motor buses from 1945 to 1969.

Thank you for your kind comments Mark, We are making all the main details first, ie: Track, Buildings, walls & fences, rocks & greenery. Figures, birds and one or two wild animals will be added last. Animals have been acquired, but birds are a bit of a challenge, at least to obtain British birds. I have some Lemax birds but they will have to be carved to roughly the correct shape and then re-painted.CheersGraham

Interests: Building and running exhibition layouts now in Gn15, previously in 009 scale narrow gauge for 34 years. I like steam locos and like to achieve a degree of realism. I am also interested in motor buses from 1945 to 1969.

Our third scenic baseboard, the "Mill" board, came out of the dark depths of the garage yesterday, to ponder the construction of the building itself which will go along much of the back of this board. I think I will make a cardboard mock-up as I did with the village scene. Underneath the board there is also a turnout motor to be installed too.On a different note, I recently constructed four new wagons by Steve Bennett's Black Dog Mining, all run-of-the-mill stuff to many of you I suspect, but as I am new to the scale they are new stuff for me. They were sold to me along with some others by two friends, and I am enjoying making them.Here are some photos below pictured on the Mill baseboard.

New Smallbrook loco "Delta" and four new wagons, van, tank wagon, and two bulkhead flats.

The van now fully weathered, and the tank wagon recently painted but as yet un-weathered. I choose to make it an oil wagon.

Last edited by Grum on Sat Aug 26, 2017 7:45 am, edited 3 times in total.

Interests: Building and running exhibition layouts now in Gn15, previously in 009 scale narrow gauge for 34 years. I like steam locos and like to achieve a degree of realism. I am also interested in motor buses from 1945 to 1969.

Thank you Doc. Apart from one or two of Steve's models I bought second hand and already half made, these are the first ones of his manufacture I have actually built, all my others have been Smallbrook, Shapeways or scratch built. I was very pleased to buy several of them off a good friend who is contemplating moving to a different scale, or not, as the case may be.

I am now becoming familiar with some of the regular contributors to the GnATTERbox. It's surprising how many modellers at exhibitions round here (East Anglia, UK) haven't even heard of Gn15 scale, probably because they are standard gauge modellers and nothing else seems to matter.

Question: I realise many people drift between scales, but, am I mistaken, or were there many more Gn15 modellers a few years ago?

From small beginnings back in 2003 (which is when the Gnatterbox began, the scale started a bit before that) we grew modestly as a scale, but it has always been a warm, vibrant and friendly spot here on the Gnatterbox. As ever with forums there were more folk who would quietly do their own thing than posted, but that's fine, that's typical.

I don't know when we peaked number wise, but I'm more than a little sure that Steve Bennett's decision to step back from posting (and no, let's not dive back into the whys and wherefores behind that) a few years ago had an impact on the enthusiasm of the group.

And our sad loss of Gerry Bullock last year also made a difference.

A quick word about me: I've been around from the early days, I've never modelled in Gn15, preferring scales from 1/12 up to 12" to the foot, but I've always enjoyed the friendliness and I'm a big fan of minimum gauge and smaller, see my own Minimal stuff on Facebook, linked in my signature.

I don't think it's just Gnatterbox that has lost steam from the boiler, other large scale forums like SE lounge seem to have fewer posters too. Judging by forums for the smaller scales, most people still want lots of track for operation.

Still, there is a movement towards simplicity in model railways, for example Lance Mindheim. Maybe this will trickle down into the mainstream and lead to renewed interest in larger scales, where things are constrained by lack of space to be simple. I follow a blog by Mike Cougill that has interesting thoughts on why we model. See here: http://www.ostpubs.com/ost-blog/

Interests: Building and running exhibition layouts now in Gn15, previously in 009 scale narrow gauge for 34 years. I like steam locos and like to achieve a degree of realism. I am also interested in motor buses from 1945 to 1969.

Peter, I tried reading some of Mike Cougill's blog, but as I am on tablets at the moment they affect my concentration, and it's quite philosophical, I couldn't take it "in". I will try another day on that one!

To me, old and grumpy as I am, it seemed to be the same with the 009 modellers. There were a small number of superb modellers a few years ago who wrote about their layouts and inspired many people in a similar way. I suspect it is the same with several other scales.I am lucky with Gn15 as I have a friend in Suffolk who has an encyclopaedic knowledge, and several layouts, I admire models of his every time I see him.

Perhaps this isn't the place in the index to get deeper into the subject, but it's nice to know.

Hi Grum, it's great there are people to inspire us. Though I now tend to be inspired as much by people like you posting on forums like this. And in retrospect I wonder if the superb modellers who wrote about their layouts did us a bit of a a disservice because they all held up the ideal of a big, expensive and time consuming layout. It took me a while to realise that this is not for me.

Yes, Mike's blog is philosophical and can be confusing. But what I take from it is that modelling can be a wider range of things than I previously imagined. I am happy now just making things to do with model railways. My goal is not to operate a layout, or even to have a layout that operates, but to enjoy myself.

As very much an armchair large scale admirer rather than modeller, I'm not qualified to get into the philosophy of it all, but would just add my comment that I think your latest efforts with the rolling stock look excellent and I for one look forward very much to an opportunity of seeing Longstone revealed "in the flesh" for real time enjoyment and admiration in the not too far distant future - maybe around May next year in a certain village hall gathering that we all love between Luton and Bedford?

Interests: Building and running exhibition layouts now in Gn15, previously in 009 scale narrow gauge for 34 years. I like steam locos and like to achieve a degree of realism. I am also interested in motor buses from 1945 to 1969.

This is an attempt to create an image using the new mygninfo photo sharing and it may or may not work.

Charlie and Dave are are seen inside the maintenance shed restoring a couple of supposed ex-Decauville 4 wheeled coaches. I saw these on the Smallbrook site and just had to have a couple. They are shown as Decauville Inspection Coaches, but I immediately wanted them as passenger coaches. They were shortened in height by 10mm.

Hopefully, if this works I can start replacing some of the photographs that Photobucket no longer want to host.

Last edited by Grum on Sat Aug 26, 2017 7:40 am, edited 1 time in total.

Hi all,a bit more bashing and a suitable chassis could give you something self-propelled, like this 1920's-vintage Cane Inspector's car on "wide" gauge http://www.ilrms.com.au/drewry_man_car.htm In the photo, the centre seat with the flip over back is missing while the unit was undergoing engine repairs.

Interests: Building and running exhibition layouts now in Gn15, previously in 009 scale narrow gauge for 34 years. I like steam locos and like to achieve a degree of realism. I am also interested in motor buses from 1945 to 1969.

Yes, success! As I get time I can can start re-loading my photographs.

David, The Decauville coach was shortened by cutting directly under the top window rail, and also 10mm further down the window frames, then carefully gluing the uprights back into position. Job done. I suppose it's up to you though how much you want to take off the height.Here is a photo of them so far, detailing still to do.The coaches went together very easily, though you do have to sand off the meniscus from several large flat pieces of resin mouldings, the top of chassis, bottom of roof and the seat bottoms and backs. I would have no hesitation in getting one or two more of these quaint models.You could make sides for them, but I think you would have to narrow the seats a little to fit the panels in, but I any case I think you would lose the nice end profiles of the seat sides.

But, hey-ho, we can do what we like John!

Last edited by Grum on Sat Aug 26, 2017 8:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

Interests: Building and running exhibition layouts now in Gn15, previously in 009 scale narrow gauge for 34 years. I like steam locos and like to achieve a degree of realism. I am also interested in motor buses from 1945 to 1969.

Not a lot has been happening on the Longstone Estate in the last few weeks, probably because the staff have been helping out in the gardens cutting down overgrown trees (or sunning themselves). So I decided to make some more for them to cut back one day:Two trees are being created for the back of the "Fox Gill" board.

The trunks are made with part of dried "Ribes" branches from our garden, and Woodland Scenics 3" - 5" Tree Armatures. The supporting pips from the base of the armature has been removed and a 1/8" hole drilled up the "trunk" then some wire glued in with about 1/2" left protruding. This was used to insert and glue into the wood trunk with 2-part epoxy. The armatures and branch cuts were dry-brushed with grey acrylic.

Here they are undergoing foliage treatment . Dark green Woodland Scenics foliage sections were teased out and glued onto the branches first, then a lighter mid-green foliage on top. We are now adding Polak tree leaves, though they are under-scale. The only other leaves I have found on the internet are, what look like dried sycamore seeds dyed and sold on dolls house accessories sites, though I haven't tried them yet.The branches foliage will eventually be teased upwards to give them a less "blobby" appearance. I am still not happy with these yet, but I'll get there one day.

Other ongoing projects:A peep inside the maintenance shed late one evening showing the protracted building and painting job going on of loco No.5. A Smallbrook "Katie", but there were several faults and broken pieces with the mouldings and I really should have sent it back to Mike. I never really liked the narrow front cab sheet over that broad body so I replaced it with a full width version of my own. The rear seat/cab back was so warped it couldn't be used so again I made one of my own, all giving the loco a different appearance.

This is the basic side of one of the woollen mill buildings, unpainted. As before, Slaters 7mm Dressed Stone glued onto 5mm foamboard. The windows are large 7mm scale Arched Top windows from York Modelmaking with the matching heading stones. This side is 465mm long x 203mm high.

Last edited by Grum on Sat Aug 26, 2017 7:35 am, edited 2 times in total.

The trees look great. Often a weakness in the past on some models folk do seem to be much better arborealists ( ) these days.

As to Katie's cab sheet, well, it's always a case of beauty being in the eye of the beholder, isn't it? Horrors, but I didn't use to like the look of Heywood's locos at all, then I went to the Perrygrove, saw Ursula in the flesh, as it were, and was smitten from then on.

Interests: Building and running exhibition layouts now in Gn15, previously in 009 scale narrow gauge for 34 years. I like steam locos and like to achieve a degree of realism. I am also interested in motor buses from 1945 to 1969.